Amnon Halbersberg’s documentary “After the Votes Are Counted” has been nominated for an Ophir Award by the Israeli Academy of Film and Television. The film follows Shai Glik, CEO of the organization B’Tselem, and tracks his public and legal battles with the Israeli-Palestinian Bereaved Families Forum and far-left organizations.
The film looks at Glik’s activism behind the scenes of the national camp in Israel, including his public appearance at the Israeli-Palestinian Memorial Day ceremony held in Tel Aviv. It also deals with freedom of expression, the limits of public discourse and the question of national memory.
The documentary previously won the Tel Aviv-Yafo Mayor’s Prize, and the new nomination adds another milestone for the project. It was also reported that activists from Standing Together, whose activities are documented in the film as part of B’Tselem’s campaign against them, screened the film in their branches to see what was happening behind the scenes of the struggle.
Another film in the same category is “There Were and They Are Gone,” which deals with Gaza residents killed during the war. Glik welcomed the nomination, saying, “I congratulate with excitement the film’s nomination for the Ophir Prize. It is time that, after many years in which we got used to seeing prizes and budgets awarded to anti-Israeli films that defame the state, an authentic Zionist film will finally get on stage.” He added that the nomination proves “quality and incisive cinema does not have to come at the expense of national values,” and urged academy members to vote for the film and show pride in Israel and in the IDF soldiers who defend it.
